al philosophies and religions, as well
as in the Christian doctrine.

Says Nagasena, the Buddhist sage:

"He who is not free from passion experiences both the taste of food, and
also the passion due to that taste; while he who is free from passion
experiences the taste of food but no passion."

Hence we discover that the state of Illumination, _samadhi_, or _mukti_,
according to the most enlightened and logical interpretation, means a calm
and peaceful consciousness, undisturbed by passion. But we should not
interpret the word "passion" as here used, to mean absence of all
sensation, feeling or knowledge.

There is absolutely no arbitrary interpretation or translation of the words
of Buddha, nor can there be. The same is true of Confucius; of Mohammed; of
Krishna; of Laotze; of Jesus; of all the teachers and philosophers of the
world.

Who of you who read these words has not listened to debates and endless
discussions as to what even so modern a writer as Emerson or Whitman, or
Nietzche or Kobo Daisi, or some other, may have meant by certain
statements?

In the Samyutta Nikaya we read:

"Let a man who holds the Self clear, keep that Self free from wickedness."

This does not imply annihilation of identity, _absorption_ of
consciousness, although it has been so interpreted by many students. On the
contrary, instead of losing consciousness of the Self (which is not merely
the personality), we _find_ the Real Self.

As an adult we realize more consciousness than we do as infants. Not that
we possess more consciousness. We cannot acquire consciousness as we
accumulate _things_. We can not add one iota to the sum of consciousness,
but we can and do uncover portion upon portion of the vast area of
consciousness which _is_.

Says the Dhammapada:

"As kinsmen, friends and lovers salute a man who has been long away and
returns safe from afar; in like manner his good deeds receive him who has
done good, and who has gone from this world to the other, as kinsmen
receive a friend on his return."

If this state of _mukti_ were annihilation of individual consciousness it
would hardly be an incentive to do good deeds, except that good deeds in
themselves bring happiness, but if the bringing of happiness did not also
bring with it a larger consciousness, it would not be true happiness, but
merely a _condition_, and conditions are always subject to change.

"It is not separateness you should hope and long for; it is _unio